


Frostfire

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Alternate Reality, Cute, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-12
Updated: 2011-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-14 17:04:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/151520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an alternate universe where Jade prototypes her sprite with Bro, Dave comes to visit. Cuteness is had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frostfire

She still hasn't prototyped a second time. She's not sure how much time has passed, but she's made it to the Land of Wind and Shade, and she is walking when she finds him.

It's frighting, that's for sure. But after what her dreams have been doing to her, she isn't scared. She doesn't even feel sick. Just... sad. Just terribly, terribly sad.

And then it dawns on her. Dave. Dave hasn't been speaking to her for... … time has lost meaning. But it's been a while. And when he last did he was so curt and so... distant.

Dave had never lost anyone before.

And now she knows what to do.

* * *

It's melody and violence, energy and silence and _up_ and _out_ and transformation and a level of consciousness entirely new; a feeling of being surrounded by green and being filled up with love and duty and a thousand new memories and he doesn't exactly _breathe_ but he does _feel_ and then it dawns on him that he's a fucking dog.

He tries to say _fuck._

The dog part of his mind frowns, points to Jade, shakes its furry head disapprovingly.

He says “Arf”

And she giggles.

* * *

She's never had a brother before, and it's... weird. Bro... Brodog? Dawgsprite? She guesses he's not really even Dave's Bro anymore, not quite, because there's things he does that are _absolutely_ Bec. Not the least of which are the iridium steaks, which he actually says is “ Arfing weird, but so arfing delicious.” and then his tail wags.

Weird. Hilarious, but weird.

In between fighting Imps and dodging Trolls and figuring out what the heck is going on, they watch the sunset over her own Land, and she thinks, you know, having a brother is rather nice. They spend their free time playing in the snow, getting into stupid snowball fights. He, of course, cheats – he was already the fastest man alive and with Bec's powers and the gifts of a Sprite he's unstoppable.

But sometimes, sometimes, he lets her clock him in the face.

* * *

Then she feels guilty, because this isn't her dead family member, it's Dave's. She did this for Dave, after all. But how to break it to him? She found the orange feathers, too; Dave's lost more than just his brother. Yet wouldn't it be cruel?

“Hey, lil sis, don't worry about it. Dave's a pretty arfing cool kid. Take it from me, I think he'd be happier to know.”

She opens up Pesterchum and takes a deep breath.

* * *

“Okay, what's this crazy awesome surprise you have for me? And why did I have to promise not to freak out? I don't freak out. I am the chillest dude to ever chill, Jade, you know that.”

“Just trust me, okay? And don't freak out! Really! I promise it's okay.”

Dave is so confused by this point and his insides are completely bonkers. Here he is actually seeing her for the first time and now she's telling him not to freak out and then she's poking at her sprite summoning disk.

“What, I already know about -”

He can't even hide it. Not with Jade here, certainly, and not with that. His jaw just drops.

He wants to say something. Like, 'is this one of your crazy furry shenanigans' or... anything. Something ironic. But he can't even speak. And the first thing that comes to his lips is this:

“You died?”

A pause.

“Oh noooooo...”

* * *

Time ceases to have meaning. It's only been a day, they're all pretty sure, but it feels like a lifetime has passed. Dave doesn't pace, he just stands with his arms folded and he leans against the wall, but the part of Dawgsprite that's still Bro knows that stance far too well.

“Spit it out.”

Dave doesn't speak. Dawgsprite folds his arms disapprovingly.

In a flash, the both of them move. Dave works his timetables, but Bro has Bec's powers at his disposal, and the end result is Dave in a headlock writhing as Bro gives him a fierce noogie.

“Who's the coolkid now? Eh? _Eh?_ ”

He lets go of his little brother, who brushes himself off and, much like a rattled cat, tries to look dignified and like he totally meant to do that.

“You stop moping around like that dumb wavy fish guy you talk to on the internet sometimes and listen to me.”

Dave gives Dawgsprite his most stoic coolkid glance. He takes a breath as if to speak, then just lets it out slowly.

“This is seriously fucking weird.”

“No lies there. Think about how I feel.”

Dave smirks, just a little. Wearing half your killer's face?

“It's a whole new level of irony.”

“Man, levels I didn't even want to approach, right?” he says, folding his arms. “You're jealous”

“Why would I be jealous of Jade having a stupid furry friend?”

The pause is thick as blood.

“... okay, fine. Yeah, I'm jealous, god damn it, you're _my_ brother. What about her damn dead grandpa? It's bad enough that you're half mutant dog now and just...”

“You ever stop to think about why she did it?”

Dave rolls his eyes behind his glasses. His heart knows the reason and his head blows it off. He lets the question hang in the air. He figures he knows the reason. He also figures that Bro, being already fucking inscrutable and now a sprite and therefore required to be cryptic, isn't going to tell him a damn thing. So even if he asks...

“It... is good to see you. Again. And all that,” he says, finally. “I mean like. Where the hell did you go, anyway?”

He goes to sit down next to his green furry brother now, his hands in his pockets. Dawgsprite shrugs.

“Went to fight Jack.”

“You crazy bastard. How the hell is that motherfucker still alive, then?”

Bro looks down at the sword still in his stomach, then back up at Dave.

“Okay, fine, dumb question. Got me that time. But if he killed you then, how the hell am I supposed to do anything to stop him?”

That earns him a whack across the back of the head.

“It's not 'what am I supposed to do', it's 'what are _we_ supposed to do. All y'all dumb kids. Didn't you arfing read that Tolkien woof like I told you? ”

Dave says something like arghlebargle and flops over backwards, covering his face. “Oh god not the school bullshit again, jesus, Bro...”

“And you didn't get the lesson from that bullwoof, either. The game's a story, Dave. Y'all are the heroes. You're a fellowship.”

He puts a ghostly hand on his brother's shoulder.

“You'll beat him because you're not going to do it alone.”

Dave gave Dawgsprite the most deadpan look in the history of deadpan. “Bro,” he said. “That is the most goddamn cheesy thing you've ever said.”

“Blame the dog.”

* * *

Jade stands at the edge of her ruined greenhouse. She looks out over the cold landscape, her breath coming out in white clouds. Dave stands in the background, his glasses glowing faintly. He's talking to someone – hands free, he's not sure how it works, actually – but he asks the guy on the other end of the line to hold on.

He's got something to do.

He walks over and stands next to her, and they just look out over the landscape. It's quiet, really weirdly quiet, a silence that neither has ever known before.

“Never saw snow before,” he says at last.

“Me neither,” she says. “It's pretty, isn't it?”

“Yeah, but fuckin annoying. I don't think my socks'll ever get dry. It's like I'm sloshin around with the whole pacific ocean in my sneakers,” he says.

She gives him a look.

“... that was meant to be ironic,” he says to fill the silence.

“I know.”

They can see the imps far below, but Dawgsprite is making short work of them. It's a weird ballet, the images flickering like a heat mirage, the individuals vanishing and coming back into being. Occasionally, a small group of consorts spreads out a picnic and watches the scene.

“It's cold, too,” she says at last. “I mean it's kind of fun at first! And everything's pretty. But so cold...”

She grabs a blanket and goes to sit on a bench, putting her chin in her hand as she looks out across the landscape, a slight smile on her lips.

“So, so pretty...”

He wanders over in an oblique manner, sort of shuffling across, looking at broken glass and dead plants, trying to look like he's totally not going to go sit next to her. He manages to make almost a complete circuit of the place before well, look at that. He's sitting next to her. What a coincidence. How did that happen? He looks out across the snow as well, listening to the sound of the flakes falling down.

Jade yawns, but then her eyes go a little wide. She shakes her head furiously, whacks herself in the skull a few times. She turns away from the scene and holds her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Dave tries not to act concerned, but can't _not_ be concerned about this. He tilts his head.

“What's up?”

“Can't sleep,” she says, biting her lip. “So tired, but I can't sleep, I can't go to sleep.”

She won't cry in front of Dave. She'll be the coolkid, too. “It's really dangerous to sleep...”

He remembers, in a dream, seeing her far above in a rainbow bubble; he remembers, too, what he hears in his _own_ dreams. He puts it together.

Shit.

“Then don't go to sleep,” he says, lamely. Jade not going to sleep randomly is like hobos not being slightly grody. Even the nice guys are gonna be a little roughed up from livin on the streets. This metaphor seems to have gotten away from him slightly, so he abandons it.

\-- puppetFetishist [PF] began pestering turntechGodhead[TG] \--  
PF: you arfing moron keep her awake  
TG: what how  
PF: i dunno make some shit up  
PF: be the smooth motherarfer

He comes in closer and takes her hand. And feels really fucking awkward about it, but what the hell is he gonna do? She's got to stay awake. She shivers, and suddenly leans against him.

“You're awful warm, Dave,” she murmurs.

It's really nice to have her leaning on him like this. Warm. Safe. And something... else. But she's closing her eyes slowly.

“Hey. Hey, farmstink, wake up, you can't – no don't do that oh for god's sake,” he says, trying to push her off him. He feels like a huge dick, but she's dozing off and he doesn't know what to do.

“Jade. Jade, seriously, hey Jade, hey, I'm gonna make Bro fetch a frisbee in the snow”

  
PF: you arfin will not do that   
TG: stop eavesdropping you dick   


He brushes her hair away from her face. She's awfully pretty when she sleeps. But no, no, shit, she's gotta wake up. Before she starts having the nightmares again.

What the hell to do?

“Jade, I'll do a dumb dance. I'll...”

TG: hey dumpass make your furry ass useful and give me a suggestion here  
PF: simple  
PF: you kiss her  
TG: what no  
TG: no  
TG: this is not disney princess bullshit  
TG: i am not the goddamn prince charming  
PF: dave  
PF: you kiss that girl this instant  
PF: or i swear to dog  
PF: i will arfing fly up there and kick your scrawny little butt  
TG: oh hell no  
TG: i am not john  
PF: trust me lil bro.  
PF: i got the crazy sprite knowledge.  
PF: i know shit.  
PF: game wants you to kiss the girl.  
TG: fuck off\--  
turntechGodhead [TG] blocked puppetFetishist [PF] \--

Oh _hell_ no.

He tries a bunch of other things instead. Snow down the back of her shirt. She does sort of giggle in her sleep about that... but then goes back to looking worried. Damn it. He shakes her.

“Jade. Jade. I am not John. This is not one of John's stupid ass movies. I am not gonna kiss you so you wake up.”

Jade's response was a soft murmur.

“... this is stupid.”

That out of his system, he looks down at her sleeping face again.

 _Really, really stupid._

How was he even supposed to _do_ this? Jesus. Kiss the girl, he says, like it's easy. He takes off his glasses and puts them aside, because screw you Dawgsprite, you can just shut up.

Come on. He's the coolkid. He can totally kiss the girl and make it look two billion times better than in the movies.

He leans over and kind of sort of pecks her on the lips.

She doesn't wake up.

“God. Damn it,” he says. “Just. God damn it, Jade.”

He's just managed to put his glasses back on when something cold and wet hits him in the face.

“Ow! What the fuck!?”

Jade is wide awake, and looks a bit upset. She's glaring at him and he's wondering what the hell he did wrong.

“You know, it's very rude to kiss a girl when she's asleep like that! Taking advantage of a lady, sheesh!” she says, hands on her hips.

“What – no, it was your stupid dog – my stupid brother – told me to -”

“You should have asked first!”

He cannot do it. He cannot keep his cool when she's mad at him.

“I swear I was just trying to wake you up, I wouldn't be sucking your face otherwise jeez,” he says.

She tilts her head and looks... sad, almost.

“Really?”

“Of course not. Jesus, what do you take me for?”

“... oh,” she says, suddenly twisting the bottom of her shirt in her fingers. Dave folds his arms and leans back against the railing, not looking at her now, trying to play the coolkid.

“... but if you'd asked, the answer would have been 'yes'.”

He stares at her, dumbfounded and uncomprehending for the second time that day. Girls. He will never, ever understand' em.

“Dave,” she says, smiling. “Sometimes, you're really dumb.”

She leans over and kisses him before he can say anything in response. It's still a fairly chaste thing, an awkward smooshing of the lips and cuddling; two teenage kids who honestly have no idea what they're doing at all.

But that's about how it should be.

* * *

Of course like the douchebag older brother he was AND like the supposedly innocent pet canine he sort-of is, Dawgsprite watches. Really it's not as if he _can't_. Semi-omniscience and all that.

He smiles.

“Guess I get to watch him grow up after all, eh?” he says.


End file.
